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No. 9 USC Women Sweep San Diego In ITA Kick-off Opener

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The No. 9 USC women's tennis team secured a ticket to advance in the ITA Kick-off Weekend with a 4-0 sweep of visiting No. 60 San Diego on Friday afternoon at Marks Stadium. The Women of Troy now turn to face No. 35 Auburn, which delivered a 4-0 win over No. 28 LSU in today's opening match. LSU and San Diego will play tomorrow (Jan. 30) at 2:30 p.m. in the consolation match, followed by a 5:30 p.m. clash between USC and Auburn. The Trojans improve to 3-0 on the year with today's win.

It was fairly smooth sailing for the Women of Troy in their match, as Danielle Lao / Alison Ramos pulled out of a late 6-6 tie in their No. 2 doubles match to claim USC's first win with a break and then a hold by Lao for an 8-6 win. While Lyndsay Kinstler / Maria Sanchez were rallying back to take a late lead at the No. 1 doubles slot, Cristala Andrews / Valeria Pulido rumbled ahead of their San Diego foes and snagged the doubles point for the Trojans with an 8-3 win at No. 3.

The Trojans rolled on in singles play, pinning up relatively quick wins in the at the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions to finish up the match for USC. USC's top three singles players were all in the lead when the match was clinched, although momentum generated at the No. 5 slot by Leyla Entekhabi's 6-1, 6-0 victory over Lise Marbach powered USC ahead. Cristala Andrews stepped up next, taking USC to a 3-0 lead with her 6-2, 6-1 win over Maria Raygada at No. 6, and freshman Valeria Pulido put the match away from No. 4 with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Alexandra Demidova.